Facial Fracture Injuries in Florida Auto Accidents

By
Jimmy Fasig
|August 13, 2014

Car accidents can cause many types of accidents to drivers and passengers. Among the
more serious types of injuries are maxillofacial injuries, or injuries
to the skin and bones of the face. In Florida, car accident victims can
recover damages for these types of injuries from the person or persons
who caused the injuries.

Car Accidents Can Cause Serious Facial Injuries

More than 3 million facial injuries occur each year and a significant number
of them are caused by motor
vehicleaccidents.

Facial injuries are a serious concern because of the number of important
functions the face provides to human beings. First, the face provides
for the sense of taste, sight, smell, and hearing. In addition, the face
allows people to talk and eat. It is where the digestive system and the
respiratory system start. Is also is central to the expression of human
emotion and human identity.

Beyond the functionality of the face itself, facial injuries are of concern
because more than 50 percent of patients who suffer facial injuries in
a car accident also suffer trauma to at least one system in their body.

Types Of Facial Fractures

Facial fractures are classified by where they occur and by what facial
bones or structures are affected. Generally, fractures to the face (or
the maxillofacial region) can be divided into three areas:

Fractures to the upper face—including the frontal bone and frontal sinus;

Fractures to the midface—which has two parts:

– the upper midface, which is made up of the zygomatic arch, nasal
bones, ethmoid bone, and the non-tooth-bearing part of the maxillary bond
(this is where Le Fort II and Le Fort III fractures occur, as well as
where fractures of the nasal bones, nasoethmoidal complex (NOE) zygomaticomaxillary
complex (ZMC), and orbital floor fractures occur)

– the lower midface, which is made up of the maxillary alveolus,
the teeth, and the palate (This is where Le Fort I fractures occur).

Fracture to the lower face—which includes the mandible.

The Type of Facial Fracture Can Provide Evidence Of Liability

The type of facial injury sustained can indicate who is responsible for
an accident. For example, the question of whether someone was speeding
often comes up in auto injury cases. The occurrence of a facial fracture
and its location can indicate the speed at which the victim’s face
impacted an object. This, in turn, can sometimes be used to help establish whether
excessivespeed was involved in a crash.

The existence of a facial fracture and its location can be a clue about
the cause of the accident because the amount of force required to fracture
facial bones varies from one region of the face to another. The nose and
cheek bones (called the nasal bone and zygomatic arch) are fairly easy
to break with a low-impact force. In contrast, it takes significantly
force to break bones in the forehead region (the supraorbital rim), as
well as the mouth and lower jaw region (the maxilla and mandible). So,
if an accident victim breaks his or her lower jaw in a crash, the nature
of the injury may help prove that greater force, and thus greater speed,
was a factor in the crash.

If you have suffered facial injuries in an automobile or other accident,
the attorneys at Fasig & Brooks are available to help you recover
compensation for your injuries. Our attorneys and counselors represent
clients throughout Florida and South Georgia, including clients in the
Ft Walton Beach, Gretna, Havana, Jacksonville, Gadsden County, Miami,
Panama City, Pensacola, Quincy, South Georgia, and Tallahassee. Please
call us for a free consultation at (850) 583-9409. We are here to help.

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